BOONVILLE — Upper Lake High School’s defensive pressure made up for a slow start on offense as the Cougars beat the Anderson Valley Panthers 57-22 in non-league varsity boys basketball action Tuesday night in Boonville.
It was the season opener for the Cougars (1-0) and the Upper Lake head coaching debut of Tony Arroyo, who had no major complaints with his team’s first effort of the season.
“We were a little flat coming out, we didn’t shoot very well, from the outside especially,” Arroyo said. “Once our defensive intensity picked up (in the second quarter), we got a lot of turnovers and that’s how we increased our lead,” Arroyo said.
The Cougars scored 23 points in the second quarter to open up a 35-11 halftime advantage.
“We were able to run on them and once we were able to take control of the boards, that’s how we pulled away in the third quarter,” Arroyo said.
Louis Avalos scored 12 points and Dalton Slater added 11 to lead the Cougars. Benat Love had eight.
“Avalos’ defensive pressure forced a number of turnovers,” Arroyo said. “Slater put back a number of shots.”
The Cougars also hit five 3-pointers, getting one each from five different players.
While it was Upper Lake’s first game, the Cougars have had a busy week with scrimmages Monday against Fort Bragg and Tuesday against Kelseyville.
Junior varsity
In junior varsity action, Upper Lake squared its season record at 1-1 with a 47-18 win over Anderson Valley. Julian Cruz scored a team-best 18 points, most on fastbreak baskets, and Kyle Grande added 12 points, including two 3-pointers.
Upper Lake led 27-7 at halftime.
“They looked pretty good,” Upper Lake coach Nick Williamson said. “We’re still working on making our offense run smooth. We did a better job tonight.”
Added Wiliamson of the Cougars’ second game of the season, “We’re learning to play together and we’re working hard on defense. We don’t have big guys, but we did a good job on the boards. It was a good night all around.”
Upper Lake’s boys teams are back at it Friday night when they visit Willits as part of a four-game set against the host Wolverines. The JV boys tip off at 5 p.m.
